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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Vesper Sparrow

The scientific name of the Vesper Sparrow, Pooecetes gramineus, derives from Lain and Greek for “grass dweller” and “fond of grass” (Jones and Cornely 2002). This species thrives in grasslands but declines when such habitat becomes rare (see my post of 17 April 2011). I took this photograph near Northfield after our late April 2013 blizzard—certainly a candidate for inclusion in a future version of my White Album of bird portraits. A storm like this one is probably tough on these sparrows—experimental data on captive birds show adverse effects after ten hours of fasting.

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The White Album: Portraits of Minnesota Birds

A photo gallery: A work in progress. Photos may be used free of charge if you credit the photos to my copyright.
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Birds
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Flowers (under construction)
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Dragonflies
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Butterflies (under construction).